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Athens County Commissioners Approve Fracking Road Agreement
By: WOUB Staff Writer
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Athens County's roads and bridges will be protected against the effects of fracking now that commissioners have accepted a new road agreement.
County Engineer Archie Stanley helped design the road agreement that is meant to protect roads and bridges against heavy machinery.
"We're not pro-fracking, we're not anti-fracking", Stanley said. "We're here to protect our roads and bridges."
With Athens residents leasing land to drilling companies, there will be a large increase in the number of trucks transporting equipment for fracking.
The agreement will require companies to post a bond up to $250,000 per mile to cover the costs of any damages made to the road.
One of the issues commissioners discussed was how to appropriately divide the cost between companies using the roads.
"Companies will have to tell us how many vehicles they have on the road at any given time", Stanley said. "So, we'll prorate it along those lines."
Stanley says the agreement will be ready to be used by next week.